Compaq

SOFTWARE MAKER MICROSOFT CORP. AND NO. 1 PERSONAL-COMPUTER MAKER COMPAQ COMPUTER CORP. SAID MONDAY THAT THEY ENTERED A THREE-YEAR PACT TO FEATURE MICROSOFT'S INTERNET SERVICE ON SOME OF COMPAQ'S PCS. MICROSOFT AND COMPAQ PLAN TO HARD-WIRE THE MICROSOFT NETWORK INTERNET SERVICE INTO THE COMPAQ PRESARIO LINE. THE COMPUTERS WILL HAVE KEYBOARD BUTTONS AND SOFTWARE TO ALLOW USERS TO ACCESS THE INTERNET QUICKLY THROUGH MSN. THE COMPANIES WILL ALSO DEVELOP INTERNET PRODUCTS.

Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs — and so far, that hasn't been a problem for Apple Inc. It has become the world's most valuable company, adding about $265 billion in value since Cook became chief executive 13 months ago. Shares have soared 76% and profits continue to rise. Investors feel valued with Cook lending them an ear and handing them a dividend. But all that may not be enough. With Apple poised to announce the long-awaited iPhone 5 on Wednesday and reap heavy sales from it, analysts and software developers are looking beyond the product launch to whether Cook can set his own course at the company after the death of its co-founder.

Compaq Computer Corp. announced the formation of a new telecommunications unit Monday, unveiling a powerful new data system as part of the struggling company's bid to lessen its dependence on the personal computer market. The new Compaq Telecommunications will bring together 2,000 Compaq employees currently working in other divisions. Compaq's new telecom engine for tracking telephone calls and billing customers can handle 15,000 transactions a second as well as up to 40,000 customer service operators.

Compaq Computer Corp. will take steps to prevent dealers from repackaging used computers and selling them as new under a settlement reached with 22 states, including Florida, investigating sales of its computers. Under the agreement, Compaq will stop providing dealers with materials such as extra marked boxes and factory sealing tape, which had been given to replace cartons damaged or scuffed in transit. The investigation was prompted by claims that some customers may have bought used Compaq computers they thought were new. Houston-based Compaq, the No. 1 maker of personal computers, will pay $6,000 to each state to cover costs of their investigation.

Reaching inside its own ranks for a new leader, Compaq Computer Corp. appointed chief operating officer Michael D. Capellas as chief executive Thursday in a bid to revive its flagging computer sales and profits. Capellas, 44, succeeds Eckhard Pfeiffer, who was forced out in April after Compaq's first-quarter profit came in at less than half of analysts' expectations. The company has been under enormous pressure from Wall Street to fill quickly a yawning management gap, aggravated by the departure of another half-dozen top managers in Pfeiffer's wake.

Forbes magazine chose Compaq Computer Corp. as the company of the year, saying the computer maker ``stands out as a company that has come from nowhere to occupy a powerful position in today's key industry.''Forbes in its latest issue also said that financial services was the best performing sector of industry in 1997, followed by entertainment and insurance.The monthly magazine said that ``if you think Compaq is just an assembler and marketer of boxes, you are behind the times.''Forbes picked Compaq out of 1,286 public companies.

The Federal Trade Commission wants more information on Compaq Computer Corp.'s plans to buy Digital Equipment Corp., but neither company expects the scrutiny to delay the deal. The agreement, expected to close by June, was worth $9.6 billion when it was announced in January and is the technology industry's largest ever. ``We're not at all surprised that they requested additional information,'' said Stephanie Lucie, a Compaq attorney. Lucie said the request did not suggest the Houston-based company might have to divest some operations to address regulators' anti-trust concerns.

Compaq Computer Corp. unveiled two new servers that it says are as powerful as far more expensive machines sold by SunMicrosystems Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co.and International Business MachinesCorp. With the new ProLiant models, Houston-based Compaq is following a familiar strategy of pushing into a market dominated by specialized machines by building new, less-expensive ones that run on widely available Intel Corp. microprocessor designs. The new machines start at less than $15,000.

Would you like to send a message of thanks to a member of the armed forces, a firefighter, a police officer or another individual who has served the nation in the war on terror? You can visit Compaq Computer Corp.'s "Give Thanks America" project from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today and send a free video e-mail to military personnel or others. Compaq's 35-foot motor home is touring the nation and will be parked outside the food court at the Florida Mall today.

There was nothing very high tech about the tablets used by countless first-graders learning to write the alphabet. Fold back the cover, often decorated with a picture of a horse or cat, then pick up a fat, dull-pointed pencil and slowly, clumsily, attempt "A, B, C," forming the letters between wide-spaced blue lines on coarse tablet paper. Well, class, the tablet has come a long way, morphing into a specialized laptop computer, known as a Tablet PC, that's handy for individuals in fields such as health care, real estate and insurance.

Dear Greg: On Dec. 31, I stayed at Orange Lake Resort. I rented two villas at $229.86 each. After checking in, we found that one had a foul smell, soaked rug and mildew on the walls. There was a huge ventilation/heat machine in the room. I returned to the front desk to change the room and was told there were no others available. I was told to wait a few hours to see if it would clear up. I took my family out to dinner and then to a New Year's Eve party. When we returned to the villa, the room still smelled horrible, and there was no one at the front desk.

CONCORD, N.H. -- An Orlando man who pleaded guilty to helping defraud Compaq Computer out of $3 million was sentenced Thursday to two years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Steven McAuliffe also ordered Darren Franceski, 42, formerly of Schenectady, N.Y., to pay $3 million in restitution and ordered him placed on three years' parole once he is freed from prison.

Dear Greg: I bought a Compaq Presario laptop in November 2001. After a month or so, I began to notice it was locking up, but since it happened rarely, I decided not to take it in for diagnostics. Just before July 2002, the lockups became more frequent, so I took it to Best Buy and they sent it to Compaq. It has now been mailed to Compaq three times for repairs and still isn't right. Within a week of the one-year warranty expiring, the floppy drive stopped reading and writing disks, and a week later the hard drive died.

RECORDS: Miracle 13-13, Comets 20-7. BROADCAST: TV -- none. Radio -- 580 AM (WDBO) in Orlando. HOUSTON UPDATE: The Comets are in second place in the West and already clinched a playoff spot. But they still are fighting for the No. 1 spot, only one-half game back from the Los Angeles Sparks. Houston has won four of its past five games, but the loss was to the Eastern Conference's New York Liberty. WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The Miracle have won three in a row but extending that streak will be a battle.

Is Walt Disney World's much heralded "Mission: Space" ride still going to blast off next year as planned? Epcot visitors began wondering after Disney World officials removed the large daily countdown sign at the Mission: Space construction site earlier this month. "We did take down the countdown clock, but there isn't any delay with the construction of Mission: Space," said Bill Warren, a Disney World spokesman. The problems began when visitors did the math on the countdown sign and figured out the clock ended on Memorial Day in May 2003.

Compaq Computer Corp. on Thursday unveiled alliances with two companies that are majority owned by Web venture firm CMGI Inc. in moves aimed at increasing the PC maker's role in electronic commerce. The world's No.1 maker of personal computers said it made an undisclosed investment in Internet software company Engage Technologies Inc. and unveiled a marketing alliance with Ancestry.com Inc., a maker of Web research tools.

Compaq Computer Corp. plans to slash up to 8,000 jobs, or 12 percent of its work force, as it struggles to cut costs amid a $184 million loss, or 10 cents a share, in the second quarter, brought on by computer price wars. The cuts unveiled Wednesday are the first major move by chief executive and president Michael D. Capellas, who was promoted to the post last week. The reduction, from 6,000 to 8,000 jobs, comes on top of 17,000 jobs that Compaq already is axing after it acquired Digital Equipment last year.

Is Walt Disney World's much heralded "Mission: Space" ride still going to blast off next year as planned? Epcot visitors began wondering after Disney World officials removed the large daily countdown sign at the Mission: Space construction site earlier this month. "We did take down the countdown clock, but there isn't any delay with the construction of Mission: Space," said Bill Warren, a Disney World spokesman. The problems began when visitors did the math on the countdown sign and figured out the clock ended on Memorial Day in May 2003.